Sleeping Angel (Ravenwood Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

unkempt, as if he’d slept in his clothes. Perhaps he had.
    ‘We’ve had reports of vandalism in the cemetery over the past few weeks,’ said the inspector, stirring his coffee. ‘Some statues kicked over, slogans sprayed on headstones, that sort of thing,’ he added. ‘I’ll be honest; we hadn’t really taken it seriously.’
    He looked up, his gaze moving from April to her mother and back again, taking in Silvia’s glare and April’s discomfort. April hadn’t been back to Pond Square since that confrontation with her mother the morning after the fire. Reflecting, April realised she hadn’t even spoken to Silvia since that morning, but DI Reece had insisted on talking to her and her mother together. So it was that April stood hovering in the doorway, arms folded, avoiding her mother’s gaze, willing Reece to get on with it.
    ‘You hadn’t taken it seriously,’ repeated Silvia, her voice cold.
    April knew the look on her mother’s face well: she was furious. And for once, April couldn’t really blame her.
    ‘What exactly would you class as “serious”, inspector?’ continued Silvia. ‘I suppose there would have to be a killing for it to be treated as serious? Or should I say another killing? Is that how the police operate nowadays? Just wait until somebody is dead before you investigate?’
    Silvia Dunne’s voice sounded calm and even, but April knew her mother was like a grenade with the pin out – she could explode any minute. Perhaps sensing this, the inspector attempted a soothing tone.
    ‘I understand how it looks, Mrs Dunne, but we’ve had a lot more serious incidents to deal with in recent weeks. You’re quite right – people have been killed, and we have devoted the most manpower to those investigations.’
    ‘Oh really?’ said Silvia, ‘And how are those investigations getting along? Have you found out who killed my husband? Have you managed to prevent any more attacks on my family? Because to me, it doesn’t look as if the Metropolitan police are doing anything to deal with what’s happening in Highgate.’
    In normal circumstances, April would have been sympathetic to the look of helplessness on DI Reece’s face. After all, the police inspector had always been good to her, but tonight April was just as angry with the police’s incompetence as her mother.
    ‘How could you let this happen, Mr Reece?’ said April, ‘It’s my dad! How could you let someone just take him? It’s bad enough I had to ...’ she trailed off. Bad enough I had to watch him die. She turned away, hating herself for getting so emotional in front of her mother. Bad enough I had to get his blood all over my hands, bad enough he was torn from my grasp – and now it felt like she was losing him all over again.
    ‘Unfortunately, in this case, April, the local police who dealt with the vandalism neglected to pass it on to CID,’ said Reece. ‘They assumed it was just drunk kids messing around.’
    ‘Just kids ?’ snapped Silvia, ‘Is that what you think —’
    Reece held up his hands to stop her, but Silvia was in full flight.
    ‘Kids!’ shouted Silvia. ‘I’m sorry, inspector, but that’s just pure crap. I saw that door. It was solid iron but there were huge dents in it. There’s no way that was the work of a bunch of drunken kids.’
    ‘I agree,’ said Reece, standing up. He reached into a briefcase by his feet and pulled out a folder, then spread a number of photographs on the counter. April and her mother stepped forward. ‘Luckily, Miss Leicester had the presence of mind to take pictures of the damage to the gravestones,’ said Reece. ‘And ... well, as you can see, there’s a ritualistic element to this.’
    April’s eyes opened wide. There were symbols painted on the tombs, slogans scratched into the ground, even what looked like ... ‘Is that blood ?’ said April, pointing to a dark stain on one of the broken stones.
    ‘I’m afraid so,’ said Reece. ‘I don’t want to alarm